Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

I Fell Victim to a $1,500 Used Camera Lens Scam on Amazon

petapixel.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

401–410 of 447 posts

Re: I Fell Victim to a $1,500 Used Camera Lens Scam on Amazon

#401

Post by jneal »

dingaling wrote: post #3

Recap as I understand it, since the blog post isn't 0. Buyer purchased item from third-party seller on Amazon 1. Seller picked a name and address in buyer's town, from an obituary, and sent parcel containing two baking mats thereto ( instead of camera lens ) 2. Occupant of that address signed for it believing it to be for the deceased relative 3. USPS updated status to 'delivered' with signature and address recorded…

I don't understand why Amazon keeps claiming it was sent to the person's address when it was clearly shipped elsewhere. He even has a picture that shows the tracking number and the fact that it was delivered somewhere else. This should be an open and shut case for Amazon, a very obvious scam.

Re: I Fell Victim to a $1,500 Used Camera Lens Scam on Amazon

#402

Post by jneal »

viraptor wrote: post #358
stryk wrote: post #353

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're buying eBay is great. If you're the seller however, it's an entirely different story. eBay heavily, heavily, heavily favors the buyer in almost all disputes -- so much so that at times it seems as if it's automatic to the buyer's favor. I guess that's how they get people to spend money on the platform, and of course take their cut of the transaction. There are tons and tons of seller horror stories, especia…

But what's the solution here? Without an escrow service which verifies the contents both ways, the best they can do is arbitrarily choose the winner.

It probably sounds silly, but I've been the victim of similar scams and so I started video taping myself opening every single package I receive. I be sure to show the tracking information on the box and then leave the camera rolling as I open it and inspect the contents.

In the OP's case, it doesn't seem like Amazon would even care to watch the recording seeing as how they are ignoring pictures that clearly show the item delivered to the wrong address with incorrect contents, but it gives me peace of mind at least.

Re: I Fell Victim to a $1,500 Used Camera Lens Scam on Amazon

#403

Post by tjr225 »

stryk wrote: post #353
snowwrestler wrote: post #267

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have shifted all my budget and used buying from Amazon Marketplace to eBay. At this point it seems like there are new stories about Amazon Marketplace scams almost daily. Does anyone think Marketplace is a priority for Amazon leadership these days? Does Bezos even know it is still operating? It's not getting the A team, obviously. Meanwhile connecting sellers and buyers is all eBay does. They don't make devices, pr…

If you're buying eBay is great. If you're the seller however, it's an entirely different story. eBay heavily, heavily, heavily favors the buyer in almost all disputes -- so much so that at times it seems as if it's automatic to the buyer's favor. I guess that's how they get people to spend money on the platform, and of course take their cut of the transaction. There are tons and tons of seller horror stories, especia…

Anecdotal, but I have /never/ had an issue selling on eBay. I've even sold an old tube power amplifier (around ~700$) to HK and the transaction went smoothly.

Re: I Fell Victim to a $1,500 Used Camera Lens Scam on Amazon

#404

Post by Retra »

yladiz wrote: post #366
Retra wrote: post #361

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, ebay screwed me over with their "no action after 30 days" policy when it took me longer than that to figure out the item was never shipped. Maybe they've gotten better over the last 8 years, but I'm not coming back regardless.

I think 30 days is really reasonable to see if something shipped or not. Maybe eBay could do more to alert you but if you purchase something you really should follow up and make sure you're getting it.

They should ban pre-orders as well, then.

Re: I Fell Victim to a $1,500 Used Camera Lens Scam on Amazon

#405

Post by fma »

LgWoodenBadger wrote: post #360
fma wrote: post #328

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nope, you must be thinking about hotdogs. Hotdogs are a loss leader for Costco. Memberships make them money. "The most important factor about membership fees is that they go straight to the company's bottom lines. Costco operates its warehouses on essentially a breakeven basis, making its profits on memberships instead of merchandise. " https://www.fool.com/investing/2016/08/18/what-do-membership...

I haven't done the math, but I don't know how accurate this is given that 2/3 of their sales are to members who receive 2% cash back ($110 executive members). The executive membership would need to average $5500 in purchases to wipe out any Costco profit on their memberships. $8250 average to wipe out ALL membership profit. I'll have to come up with a formula based on the numbers in your article. It'll be interesting…

Please post if you figure it out :) I've heard the statement for a while and am curious as well.

Re: I Fell Victim to a $1,500 Used Camera Lens Scam on Amazon

#406

Post by zootam »

jneal wrote: post #402
viraptor wrote: post #358

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But what's the solution here? Without an escrow service which verifies the contents both ways, the best they can do is arbitrarily choose the winner.

It probably sounds silly, but I've been the victim of similar scams and so I started video taping myself opening every single package I receive. I be sure to show the tracking information on the box and then leave the camera rolling as I open it and inspect the contents. In the OP's case, it doesn't seem like Amazon would even care to watch the recording seeing as how they are ignoring pictures that clearly show the…

its not silly, i had the same idea to do that. i do it for any particularly expensive/valuable packages.

Re: I Fell Victim to a $1,500 Used Camera Lens Scam on Amazon

#407

Post by toast0 »

manmal wrote: post #290
Veratyr wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Might not get the money back but might also get the sender 20 years prison and/or a fine: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1341

I would, irrationally, feel bad about sending someone to prison for 20y just because they stole some cash from me.

I don't know the sentencing rules, but this is an up to, not a minimum. This particular crime showed a lot of premeditation, and it might not be the only instance. I wouldn't feel bad about referring it to the justice system.

Re: I Fell Victim to a $1,500 Used Camera Lens Scam on Amazon

#409

Post by DanBC »

noncoml wrote: post #346
exco wrote: post #325

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I received a counterfeit item after paying more for the item that was "Sold my Amazon", thinking that way, I would get the real product. What's more frustrating is that Amazon didn't really care or do anything about it. They offered a return or an exchange but couldn't guarantee that that the exchanged item wouldn't be fake. I no longer trust them with items that are easily faked.

> Amazon didn't really care or do anything about it. They offered a return or an exchange Sorry to sound like an Amazon fanboy, but what else could Amazon do for you? They offered a return without even questioning you. I don’t know a lot of companies that would do that.

They could offer to check the stock bin the counterfeit item was sold from; they could check suppliers to that bin.

Re: I Fell Victim to a $1,500 Used Camera Lens Scam on Amazon

#410

Post by [deleted] »

noncoml wrote: post #346
exco wrote: post #325

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I received a counterfeit item after paying more for the item that was "Sold my Amazon", thinking that way, I would get the real product. What's more frustrating is that Amazon didn't really care or do anything about it. They offered a return or an exchange but couldn't guarantee that that the exchanged item wouldn't be fake. I no longer trust them with items that are easily faked.

> Amazon didn't really care or do anything about it. They offered a return or an exchange Sorry to sound like an Amazon fanboy, but what else could Amazon do for you? They offered a return without even questioning you. I don’t know a lot of companies that would do that.

[deleted]
Post reply on HN